Somali-American model Halima Aden who grabbed eyeballs on becoming the first hijab-wearing model, has now made it to Sports Illustrated magazine. The beauty posed in a hijab and colourful burkinis for the May swimsuit edition. The photo shoot happened on Watamu Beach on the Kenyan coast with fashion photographer Yu Tsai. The 21-year-old model and activist had grabbed headlines when she featured on Vogue Arabia's cover last year along with eight other models. Vogue Does It Again! Magazine Features Hijab-wearing Model Halima Aden On Their British Cover.

Sharing pictures and videos from her photo shoot, she took to Instagram saying, "Don't change yourself .. Change the GAME!! Ladies anything is possible!!! Being in Sports Illustrated is so much bigger than me. It's sending a message to my community and the world that women of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings... can stand together and be celebrated. Thank you so much @si_swimsuit & the entire team for giving me this incredible opportunity." World Hijab Day 2019: From Athletes to Beauty Queens, 5 Muslim Women Who Rocked the Headscarf With Pride.

Talking to BBCabout her experience, Halima said, "Young girls who wear a hijab should have women they look up to in any and every industry. We are now seeing politicians, businesswomen, television reporters, and other successful hijabi women in visible roles and that is the message we need to be sending."

In 2017, Aden had said that she hoped that one day people will see women wearing hijabs as a normal thing. The Minnesota-based model was born in a Kenyan refugee camp and shifted to the United States when she was six. In 2016, she was the first Muslim contestant to compete fully dressed in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. She went on to become the first hijab-wearing model to appear on the cover of a major US magazine. American Eagle had teamed up with Aden to launch denim hijabs in 2017.